China is actually GM's single largest market. Over the first three quarters of 2018, the Detroit-based automaker sold 2.57 million cars in North America. Over the same period, the company sold 2.68 million cars in China alone.

On Monday, General Motors announced that it would close three assembly plants in 2019 and discontinue six slow-selling passenger cars made at the plants.

GM's bold strategic shift is a preemptive measure to protect the company by aligning its production capacity with consumer demand in anticipation for a sales slowdown that's expected to take place in the near future.

The soon-to-be-shuttered plants include Oshawa Assembly in Canada, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan, and Lordstown Assembly in Ohio.

As a result, the Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Impala, Cadillac CT6, and Cadillac XTS sedans will all be discontinued in the US by the end of 2019.